Meikle Toir Part 2: The Chinquapin One. 

It’s no secret that virgin oak is my first love of whisky. Billy Walker is somewhat instrumental in that love, too. Many years ago at The Whisky Shop, an exclusive BenRiach was bottled for the company, a 17YO cask strength with a virgin oak finish. Wedding bells may as well have rung out across the whisky community because I bought and drank about 5 bottles of this stuff in half as many years. Stunning.

But here we have new distillate, peated to 35ppm, and matured solely in Chinquapin virgin oak casks. This type of white oak was first used by Jura, if memory serves me correctly, and it was a little lost in the mix. It’s all well and nice to shout about utilising new wood, but when it’s lost in the vatting process to fundamental dullness, it’s not easy to sing it to the roof in celebration. Luckily, we don’t have to worry about that here.

This is an absolutely stunning example of how virgin oak can mature Scotch whisky to a degree of true succession in regards to the true balance of a product. We are overwhelmed by white chocolate, caramel, cocoa, plum notes, orange oil, cedar wood smoke, powdered sugar, croissants, and all of the boozy delight that there is to be had when exemplary skills are put to use to make two very powerful forces in whisky work together. Billy Walker, f^ck^ng hell.

Cheers!

Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada March 2024 Outturn

Join Adam as he once again introduces us to another epic set of SMWS releases at The Strath. Check out the SMWS page on The Strath’s webstore, where you can buy bottles and tickets to upcoming events –

THE VIDEO

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 534: Teeling Crystal Malt

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tries a new Irish whiskey. This can certainly be called a world premiere. On February 29, Teeling launched the very first triple distilled Irish whiskey made from Crystal Malt, a malt obtained by exposing the grain to extra heat during malting to crystallize the sugars. The result should provide additional notes of caramel and toffee. The whiskey was matured in Virgin American Oak barrels. It was initially only available in The Loop, the duty-free shop at Dublin Airport, but is now being rolled out to what they call key markets and that means it won’t be long before it will also be on our shelves.

https://youtu.be/QcKPzOmL2mo

ralfy review 1018 Extras – Vintage blend meets modern malt.

ralfy review 1018 – Ardmore 12yo @46%vol:(Port finish)

Meikle Toir 5YO, The Sherry One

https://youtu.be/azCLVYnhj-E

Our Billy, who art in Glasgow, hallowed be thy casks…

Honestly, this whisky is so impressive, but if I have to spell Meikle Toir anymore, then I’m going to use the bottle as a blunt instrument to inflict some sort of retail driven revenge.

Billy Walker is God when it comes to sherry casks. There’s the best absolute sentence you’ll ever read in whisky. But this thing is a stunner of range and flavour. Peating a distillate to 35PPM, bottling it at 48% ABV, full maturation in what have to be the wettest sherry casks of all time, and with all the other good stuff – I’m just so blown away. But is it a surprise?

I never got to try his Glenallachie Future bottling because every annoying flipper in the whisky game sold it, and I refuse to pay secondary prices for anything to drink. But the way this whisky is structured just took me away to a different world. If you want something with deep sherry notes, and with any level of smoke to it at all, ignore anything from the following distilleries: Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Springbank (Yes, I said it) and Bunnahabhain Moine, just ignore them and buy this. It is 5YO whisky for under £50 a bottle that just blows them out of the water and puts them into the stratosphere to never be heard from again.

You all might be thinking this is an odd thing to state, but I’m going with it.

Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 546 – Doing Their Own Thing And Not Conforming..!

Welcome to the second episode of the show dedicated to the Independent bottler Claxton’s. This week I’ll be looking at a selection of their cask strength, single cask releases in their Warehouise No1 series. Filmed in The Study Nottingham

Featuring

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Port Dundas 2006 (15 year old) 58.1%

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Orkney Islands (Highland Park) 2012 (9 year old) 61.2%

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Linkwood 2010 (13 year old) 54.6%

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Ben Nevis 1997 (26 year old) 47.1%

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Arran 1996 (27 year old) 50.4%

Claxton’s Warehouse No1 Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte) 2008 (14 year old) 53.2%

www.claxtonsspirits.com

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 523: Roseisle 12 Year Old Diageo Special Releases

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tries something very exciting. The Diageo Special Releases are a yearly event that every whiskylover looks forward to. This year, it also saw the very first release – as a single malt – of the Roseisle distillery, that huge green plant near Elgin that produces two styles primarily: Speyside Light and Speyside Heavy. Most of the 12 million litres per annum are destined for blends like J&B, Bells, Buchanan and, of course, Johnnie Walker. But now we find ourselves able to try a 12 years old single malt from Roseisle, nicknamed The Origami Kite.

https://youtu.be/Sa1Zs4nDEUc

Glenglassaugh 12 – The Unbottling & Tasting Announcement

The wait is over here in BC for fellow lovers of Glenglassaugh! The 12 has landed, and Adam is overcome with joy. Come and taste it with him and a room full of other whisky enthusiasts at The Whisky Arrival Showcase or pick up a bottle now instore or online – links below.

Whisky Arrival Showcase

Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old

ralfy review 1017 Extras – Some more whisky knowledge.